Toronto is the NBA's most diverse team, with six international players from Australia, Brazil, Italy, Lithuania, Nigeria and Spain.

Utah has five global guys, including St. Petersburg standout Kirilenko, Turkey's Mehmet Okur, Ukraine's Kyrylo Fesenko (not present), the Netherlands' Francisco Elson and Raja Bell, a native of the U.S. Virgin Islands.

In all, the NBA boasts a record-high immigration rate. The league of 435 players had 84 international athletes (19.3 percent) from 38 countries and territories as of opening night.

That's up from 79 international players at the end of the 2009-10 season.

"I think more and more international players are going to be on the floor in the next couple of years because basketball is spread out global and more and more people come to the league," Kirilenko said. "So, it's not surprising."

The foreign invasion has more than doubled in the last 12 years. In 1998-99 — the season before Bell entered the league — the NBA only had 38 international players.

"There's great talent all over this world," Jefferson said. "And every year, they get better and better, so I'm not surprised, because the best players are going to play, and they're everywhere."

Jefferson laughed when he was asked by Jazz radio voice David Locke if it's harder to get to the NBA from his hometown or from Italy (Toronto center Andrea Bargnani's home).

"I would think Prentiss, Miss.," Jefferson said. "You never know. We might have some more talent hidden down there in Prentiss."

Of course, that's what they're probably saying from Rome to Rio, too.

TCU WHO?: Speaking of international sporting events, Kirilenko was asked about the big game up on the hill Saturday. You've heard about the TCU-Utah showdown a million times or so, but, no offense, the Russian does not follow that kind of football.